CLOSE CALL HOMES ESCAPE THREATENING FIRE.Byline: Nicholas Grudin Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - A brush fire that hit as the afternoon winds picked up threatened dozens of homes Monday afternoon, forcing the evacuation of many residents. The 25-acre blaze - the third brush fire the area has seen in two weeks - was apparently started about 2 p.m. by cooking at a homeless camp in an overgrown overgrown said of a part that has not been kept trimmed. overgrown hoof overgrown hooves put unusual stresses on bones and tendons and allow for distortion of the wall and sole. ravine above the Circle J Ranch community, officials said. Nobody was injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. in the fire, but flames came within feet of several homes. ``I looked up, and, all of a sudden, I saw it coming over the hill - it started moving pretty fast, so I panicked,'' said Michael Gentry, 18, who was at home recovering from injuries suffered in a recent car crash. ``I saw one tree catch, and it was like, boom - it was engulfed.'' Within minutes, Gentry - using crutches - saw the flames crest the ridge and race down the hill toward his house. Unable to run, he hopped onto a bike and rolled down the street away from the approaching flames. ``I noticed the intense heat of it all,'' he said. Up the street, Tim Crescenti's home was the closest to the blaze. When Crescenti returned home from work, his back yard was surrounded by ash. ``It's pretty jarring to come around the bend and see this all charred black,'' Crescenti said, pointing to the hillside behind his two-story, stucco stucco (stŭk`ō), in architecture, a term loosely applied to various kinds of plasterwork, both exterior and interior. It now commonly refers to a plaster or cement used for the external coating of buildings, most frequently employed in home. Crescenti, his wife and two teenage children stood on the street in front of their house looking at the still smoldering smol·der also smoul·der intr.v. smol·dered, smol·der·ing, smol·ders 1. To burn with little smoke and no flame. 2. ground just beyond their back yard, which hours earlier had been crowded with green shrubbery and oak trees. ``We were about to build a fort, but now it's a little late,'' said Crescenti's 13-year-old daughter, Kelly. Despite the close calls, officials said they were lucky - that stronger winds could have spelled disaster. ``This was quite a small fire, and it was put down quickly,'' said sheriff Sgt. Richard Cohen Several people are named Richard Cohen:
Firefighters were still working on the fire at 4 p.m., but the flames were all extinguished ex·tin·guish tr.v. ex·tin·guished, ex·tin·guish·ing, ex·tin·guish·es 1. To put out (a fire, for example); quench. 2. To put an end to (hopes, for example); destroy. See Synonyms at abolish. 3. . No structures were damaged in the blaze. Investigators from the county Sheriff's Department's arson arson, at common law, the malicious and willful burning of the house of another. Originally, it was an offense against the security of habitation rather than against property rights. and explosives unit will be investigating the cause of the fire, Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. said. Nicholas Grudin, (661) 257-5255 nicholas.grudin(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Delores Fox covers her face to keep down the smoke as a crew heads into a brush fire Monday. (2 -- color) Hand crews from Acton pitch in to battle the blaze near 13th Street and Circle J Ranch Road. (3 -- 4) A firefighter, above, waits for water to build pressure in a fire hose as he battles the flames. A resident of the area, below, walks her dog away from the fire area Monday. David R. Crane/Staff Photographer |
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